Thread: Cell rot?

I got this blade by accident (the only bid) on a night of bidding madness. Anyhow, it arrived today, much earlier than expected, and I'm afraid it has cell rot. The scales and the blade and everything else fit together perfectly, it closes perfectly etc... it's truly a fantastic thing right here.

So I want to make SURE that it is cell rot or not. The rust follows the pattern of the transparent parts for the most part, but not entirely, so I'm only 70% sure it is cell rot, and want you gurus out there to give your opinions.

I have attached the pictures, should be enough detail to judge I believe. The blade is pretty darn nice, I can see almost zero hone wear unless my eyes are deceiving me. It's also funny that the steel is "Best ELECTRIC silver steel", no clue what that does, but pretty funny.

I would really appreciate your feedback. ALso if there's any tests I can do to ensure if it is or isn't that disease, please let me know and I'll do them right away as an experiment for everyone to learn from

Oh yes and part two of my question: If it is cell rot, is the WEDGE also affected, or is that another type of plastic stuff? Just to know if I can recycle it or not..

From what I can tell in the pics it may or may not be cell rot, there does seem to be a pattern to the rust. What do the scales smell like, if you smell what has been described as a vinegary or camphor type smell, its rot. If no smell can be had and there is no obvious deterioration on the scales I would sand the blade, hone it and enjoy it while waiting for this to repeat itself. If the rust pattern repeats, those beautiful scales will have to go.

I don't think its cell rot. Usually the pattern is striking. However smell them for that vinnegar smell though when they start sometimes there is no smell or specific pattern. Until you decide keep them away from other razors and keep the blade open.

Sometimes the only way to tell is to clean the balde completely and then see what happens. If its cell rot it will start again pretty qiuckly.

If there isn't any distinct smell, try setting it in a closed plastic bag for a while (say, few days/week?) and smell a little while opening the bag. This brought a strong smell of camphor with one of my suspects, that normally didn't smell of anything.